Real estate in the Catskills symbolizes a traditional and slower way of life.
We recreate that romantic house on the hill with our new old designs. Fireplaces, wrap-around porches, wide plank floors and vintage fixtures are only the beginning of these Catskill real estate offerings.
Catskill Farms has saved more than a few families from the 'this old house fantasy'.
We build homes that work - from day 1.
Curated by: Charles Petersheim

www.thecatskillfarms.com

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Cottage 7 and 8 in the ground

Getting a foundation in is not the easiest thing to do. It's very weather and subcontractor dependent. It works like this - the excavator clears the building lot of trees and stumps (2-3 days), digs a big hole (1 day), with the bottom of the hole being at least 4'+ underground to prevent any impact from frozen ground 'heaving the building'. The mason then comes in and lays the forms for his footings (4 hours on these size houses). Then the building inspector needs to come by to check it out - the width/depth and rebar reinforcement. The mason pours the next day. The mason comes back to strip his forms, and start forming up the foundation walls, which sit on the footings ( about 1 day). Then the inspector returns to check out the walls and the cross-grid rebar reinforcement. Then the mason pours his walls, and 2 days later comes back to strip his forms. Then the excavator waterproofs the foundation (tars the foundation), and installs his footing drains all around the perimeter of the basement to keep it dry (#2 stone and perforated pipe). Then the inspector returns to check out the installation of the drainage, then we are ready to move the dirt back (backfill). If everything goes perfect, it takes under 2 weeks - but rain can make it a nightmare for access (cement trucks, stone trucks, mason trucks, big excavator) and progress. These went pretty well, mostly because the subcontractors were right on schedule. Paying them quickly helps this process.

Here is Ana & Pablo's new sexy foundation in the morning sun. This is what they call a walk-out, with doors and windows leading out from the basement.

And Rob and Leah's foundation, tarred and backfilled, waiting politely for the house framers. Another couple of weeks and the trees will be ablooming.